Criminal Admiration
by dejiko001
Summary: "I really am sorry." His eyes, on the other hand, didn't look so apologetic to Momoko. He looked completely unfazed to her. "Don't lie to me," Momoko retorted. "I'm not falling for another one of your lies." One-shot: Brick x Momoko. Partner one-shot to "Criminal Adoration" and "Criminal Devotion."


**Disclaimer:** I don't own _**Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z**_ and any of its characters used in this fanfic.

 **A/N:** This one-shot is part of the **_Criminal_** series, and it is a partner one-shot to **_Criminal Adoration_** and **_Criminal Devotion_**. **_Criminal Adoration_** centers around the _Bluez,_ and **_Criminal Devotion_** centers around the _Greenz._ This one-shot centers around the _Redz_ , and it takes place in the same time frame as its partner one-shots. You don't _have_ to read the partner one-shots before reading this one, but if you want to know what happened with the Bluez and Greenz (and maybe compare what happened), then I highly recommend reading them.

The **_Criminal_** series is entirely AU, so there's no such thing as the RRBZ, PPGZ, black/white light, etc. And for anyone who is curious, yes, the **_Criminal_** series will have a sequel in the form of a multi-chapter fanfic in the future (i.e., whenever I finish my current PPGZ fanfics).

The main reason why I took so long with this one-shot, in comparison to the other partner one-shots, was because I really wanted to work out the kinks in this one-shot. This was supposed to be up back in September, but things happened, so I couldn't post it. I was going to post this over my winter break, but because I had free time today, I decided to post it today!

Compared to its partner one-shots, this one-shot is the most innocent out of them (because of the dynamic relationship between Brick and Momoko in this one-shot), so its rating as T is pretty accurate. However, if you do feel uncomfortable and/or offended at any point, then feel free to leave.

Well, enjoy the one-shot, folks!

* * *

 **Criminal Admiration**

 _Fermented soybeans in a small bowl.  
Black coffee on the side.  
Add in an order of a few spring rolls.  
Just give me the things I know you can provide.  
You know my order by now,  
so don't forget the filet.  
While I wait for my order with a raised eyebrow,  
you're still in the kitchen, just cooking away._

An eighteen year old pink-eyed female redhead read this order off of one of the notepad sheets taped to one of the cabinets. Honestly, she didn't know what to make of it.

The restaurant had been receiving these sort of orders written in this very format for a while now. The note initially amused her, but nowadays, she found it rather creepy because she'd be the first one to find it every single time. To boot, it was as though the note was addressed to _her_.

At first, she brushed it off and assumed it was just a way to amuse someone in the kitchen. However, as the occurrences continued, she realized that it couldn't _just_ be a coincidence, and as she continued to find one note after another, confusion grew within her. Plus, she didn't understand why it was written in such a poetic format.

At once, she peered over the tall counter, and she couldn't help but let out a small snort.

As always, the restaurant was hustling and bustling. The servers were running everywhere; the customers were either sitting at their table, leaving their table, or waiting to be seated at a table; the bussers were working around frantically to clean up after the messes left behind by each party of people; cashiers were doing their best to quicken the pace of the line as much as possible; and even the cooks in the kitchen were running around, trying to finish up all of the orders.

All in all, it was just another busy day at the restaurant.

Her two childhood friends were also interns, just like her. They received their internships from different areas because obviously, they had different dreams.

One of her childhood friends became a fashion designer intern. With her blonde hair always in pigtails, her porcelain skin ever so perfect, and her light blue eyes shining happily, she was also the most beautiful out of the three. Her name was Miyako Gotokuji, and out of the three group of friends, she was luckiest. The blonde managed to land an internship that would lead directly to her dream and success.

Her other childhood friend became a police intern. Her strength was enough to rival any boy—well, all except one, but that was in the past—so the internship was easy for her to land. That, and she was one of the few—if not few, then the _only_ —person to have a successful internship with the police.

The redhead didn't pay much attention to the details at the time because her childhood friend was ranting about how the other interns were total wimps, but she did know that judging by her friend's attitude, the majority of the interns started dropping out like dead flies. That, and she mostly remembered about her friend's ranting about how there were no wrestling internships available.

Unlike Miyako, this childhood friend of hers was practically the complete opposite of her. She was a tomboy through and through, and even as she grew up, she refused to convert to what anything that was considered feminine. To boot, because of the way she dressed and acted, the girl was almost always mistaken first as a male. Even her name, Kaoru Matsubara, would add to the confusion as well.

The redhead had gotten an internship that was "in between." While Miyako had gotten the internship she wanted and Kaoru didn't, the redhead received the internship she wanted, but not at the right place. She was a chef intern at this very restaurant, but because she always had a love for sweets and pastries, she wanted to become a pastry chef—maybe even work in a small cafe because the idea of owning a little shop seemed pleasing to her. However, she realized quickly that the internship she wanted was _too_ competitive. She didn't even have much of a chance to even try applying for it. It was completely ridiculous, and all that was left—all that was related to her dream of having a career related to food, in fact—was just this restaurant internship. To make things worse, she heard rumors that the reason why no one wanted to take up the internship was because the restaurant was too difficult to handle—both mentally and physically.

She was hesitant on accepting it at first, and admittedly, she did complain about it. However, because her childhood friends insisted on her taking it anyway since they both believed that it was best to be broader when it came to cooking, the redhead decided to accept the internship. She didn't regret accepting it, of course, but there were times when she wondered what it would've been like if she had gotten the internship she wanted in the first place instead of this one.

She peered over the tall counter again to look at the hustling and bustling of the restaurant, and she couldn't help but grin sheepishly.

The place was like heaven to the customers. It received four—maybe even five—star reviews from almost every single critic who dropped by. It took the redhead some time for her to adjust to the hustling and bustling of the restaurant. There were other interns from other universities as well, and thankfully, the restaurant at least felt like a second family to her. Everyone was friendly, except for the head chef, who was always hard on everyone, especially the redhead. She didn't know why, but she chose never to question it again.

She shuddered every time she thought of the memory.

The last time she questioned him, she got kicked out of the restaurant and was forced to gather supplies and go grocery shopping. She can still remember how she would come back to the restaurant, hoping that she could go back to cooking, only to find that her boss would be there waiting with a gleam in his eyes. Next thing she knew, he sent her off yet again for _double_ the amount of work. This continued until closing hours, and by then, the redhead was so tired that when she finally got back to her dorm, she collapsed onto the floor.

Upon hearing the impact, the tomboy and blonde rushed downstairs to see the matter.

Momoko lifted her head up to look at them and said in a drained tone, "Never. Again."

Miyako and Kaoru had looked at her with puzzled expressions, while she made a mental note to herself to never dare question her boss ever again.

The redhead shook her head to shake off the memory. She glanced over at the note again, and she reread the order at least several times before she heard someone clear their voice behind her.

"Akatsutsumi, what's the next order?"

The redhead didn't pay attention to the voice, though. She was too engrossed with reading the note. Something about it made the redhead want to delve deeper into the mystery of who wrote it. In fact, she tried narrowing the list to at least one of the servers, but at the same time, it was baffling.

"Akatsutsumi."

After all, because of how busy the restaurant was, it was practically impossible for one of the servers to even have time to write something like this. Every server also knew that he or she had to write the order as a list because the head chef would throw a tantrum otherwise. No one wanted to lose their job, after all. Plus, there was something familiar about the way the note was written…

" _Akatsutsumi._ "

Strangely enough, the note sounded like it came from one of the customers. But then, that'd mean that the customer would know her, and other than the officials at her university, the only people she was close with that knew she worked at this restaurant was Miyako and Kaoru.

"AKATSUTSUMI MOMOKO!"

At once, Momoko let out a large yelp as she jumped. She turned her head, and her eyes widened when she realized that the head chef was standing right before her. She immediately cleared her throat.

"Akatsutsumi, I'll have you know that _anyone_ would kill to have your position right now in this very restaurant, so I expect quick, proper responses! Do I make myself clear?!"

Momoko nodded slowly, and she cleared her throat again as her eyes shifted to the floor. "Yes, sir."

The head chef narrowed his eyes at her, but Momoko didn't notice. "Look at me straight in the eyes when you respond. Or have you forgotten that little detail?"

Momoko let out a long sigh before she looked at the head chef with hard eyes. Her lips were formed in a straight line, and her face was blank as she answered, "Sir, yes, sir."

"Good," he replied. "What's the order?"

"Filet, cup of black coffee, fermented soybeans, and a side order of spring rolls."

The head chef narrowed his eyes again, except this time, it was in complete confusion. Momoko knew why, of course. The one thing that the head chef was most annoyed about was that the restaurant made high quality dishes—which Momoko often snorted at in private because the portions were always so small, yet so expensive—so to have this kind of order was a mockery of the head chef's recipes.

The head chef quickly snatched the note from the redhead, and he pursed his lips before he muttered, "I ought to fire whoever dared to write this order."

Momoko resisted the urge to snort. She knew that he'd abide by the order because whoever wanted this dish was still a paying customer. Plus, it was always during one of the busiest hours of the day, so she knew that he couldn't afford to waste any more time. Unfortunately, this meant that she and everyone else would be in for yet another interrogation session to find out who "dared to make a mockery" of his food, only to find out that once again, no one would confess to writing the order because everyone always had an alibi.

The head chef snapped his head towards Momoko and barked, "Well?"

Momoko blinked, completely lost.

He glared at her. "The customer wants a filet."

She stared at him.

At this point, his eyes were already glaring with complete aggravation. "As in _meat_."

Momoko's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped to form an "O." Before the head chef could bark even more orders at her, she was already running off to the very back of the kitchen. As soon as she went down the hallway, she opened the door and went straight into the large walk-in freezer. Momoko quickly grabbed one of the meat packages and left the freezer.

She quickly went straight to work preparing the dish. Every single time, it was her who had to do it, and Momoko couldn't help but wonder if it was really just a coincidence each time. It was normal for the orders to be spread amongst the interns, but for Momoko to receive this particular poetic order again and again… Something about it smelled fishy, and Momoko was sure that it definitely wasn't the smell of meat from the walk-in freezer.

Momoko got to work, letting herself immerse with the cooking. When she was younger, she never considered becoming a chef. Because she would rather consume than cook, she considered becoming a famous food critic, just so she could taste all of the delicacies in the entire world. She snorted in amusement as she remembered the memory.

In fact, the reason why she even started cooking was…

At once, she frowned as she remembered why, but she shook her head. "Forget about that, Momoko. Focus on the order."

Everyone knew about the infamous note that held the weird order, and whenever the head chef wasn't around, they would always chat about it. At first, everyone assumed it was just a prank, but when a new order continued to reappear in such the same poetic format, it became a hot topic to talk about. Momoko never really participated in talking about it with her peers, but others did tease her that since she seemed to be the one handling it each time, she might've gotten a secret admirer. Momoko always denied that since it was absurd, but she'd add silently that she could try to figure out who exactly kept writing the poetic order.

With that thought in mind, she couldn't help but smile as she continued to cook.

Time passed, and eventually, Momoko finished the dish. Just as soon as she placed it on top of the counter, rang the bell, and yelled out that the order was done, she realized that the majority of the servers were gone and that the restaurant's hustling and bustling seemed to have calmed down because majority of the customers have already received their food.

Her eyes blinked in complete confusion, and when she finally caught the eye of the rest of the servers, she saw that they all wore _that_ expression.

Momoko grimaced, and at once, she heard distant yelling.

From the head chef, of course.

Momoko groaned softly. "I guess he couldn't wait until closing hours, like he always does."

She knew that the interrogation session would take a while, but things seemed to quiet down for now, so she hoped that the head chef would shush soon. Plus, she wasn't in the mood to deal with his interrogation because it was exhausting and pressuring for her each time.

Momoko looked at the servers again.

As they walked into the back room, they each pleaded to her silently with their eyes to serve the dish she made.

Momoko let out a sigh. If she remembered correctly, the table was number one…

At once, the redhead grabbed the dish, and she darted out of the kitchen and into the restaurant. She probably looked out of place because of her uniform to the other customers, but she paid no heed as she headed towards table number one. When she arrived, there wasn't a customer in sight.

She blinked a few times. "What the…?"

"Akatsutsumi."

Momoko turned her head to find that one of the servers was next to her.

"He went off somewhere," the server said.

"'Somewhere?'" Momoko repeated in slight disbelief.

Who would order something and then disappear the minute their order came? Then again, at least she was a step closer to figuring out this mystery. She made a mental note to herself to find out who the customer was, so she could find the server who wrote that order.

"He'll be back, so you can place the dish down. I think he headed off to use to the restroom."

Momoko raised an eyebrow at this, but nonetheless, she nodded. "Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem," he replied as he smiled. However, it wasn't long before he let out a long sigh. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Momoko did her best not to grimace as she understood why he had to go. She gave him a weak smile as she watched him head to the back room. Afterward, she sighed before she took her time to walk back to the kitchen. She had hoped that the customer at table one would come back, but he never did. She entered back into the kitchen with a frown on her face, and she cringed when she heard the distant yelling from the head chef.

She sighed as she headed to the counter where she had just made the filet. "All right, what's the next order?"

Just as soon as she was going to head to the cabinet to grab the next order, someone handed it to her.

Momoko smiled. "Oh, thank you."

As Momoko took the note and started to analyze it, she heard the person say, "You're welcome."

She flinched.

She _knew_ that voice.

She gulped inaudibly, and she hoped that she was mistaken, but when she turned around, her eyes widened.

There, standing right in front of her, was a tan male redhead. His red hair reached to his shoulders, and on his head was a red baseball cap placed backwards. His piercing red eyes made Momoko stand still as she stared at him. She wished that this was possibly some lookalike, but when she saw that tiny scar on the side of his jaw, she finally snapped out of it.

Momoko hesitated before she narrowed her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"What do you think?" he answered back as he stared back at her.

Momoko remained silent as she watched him circle around the kitchen. Her gaze never faltered as he continued to glance around the kitchen. She even had to turn her entire body around to keep her eyes on him.

Finally, he stopped walking and stood on the other side of the counter. He turned to face her, and his indifferent gaze fell on her again before he frowned. "No response?"

Momoko glared at him. She didn't know what to say, and it didn't help that she could hear her heart begin to pound louder with every passing second.

"Momoko-chan—"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that," Momoko snapped.

His frown grew.

"You lost all of your rights to call me that a long time ago," she hissed, finally gaining the confidence to retort. "I've asked you once, and I'll say it again. Just _why_ are you here? And I want a _direct_ answer this time."

He blinked a few times, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "To see you."

Momoko's heart dropped as her eyes widened again.

"Why else would I come to this expensive restaurant?" he said as he rolled his eyes. "The portion here is so tiny. I'm better off eating sushi if I want an actual meal."

"Then, why not eat at a sushi restaurant?" Momoko snapped.

At that moment, there was a gleam in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

Momoko hesitated to continue.

He sauntered around the kitchen again, and his cold, indifferent gaze was on her the entire time.

Momoko began to panic when she saw that he was nearing towards her. She turned to her side and tried to find the nearest weapon. The only possible weapon she saw was the kitchen knife right behind her, but that was dirty because chunks of meat were still stuck on it. Could that still even be considered as a weapon?

The bigger question, though, was if she even had the guts to _stab_ him with the knife.

"You wouldn't do it," he said.

Momoko flinched.

"I know you, Momoko. You wouldn't do it."

Oh, no, he was using _that_ voice on her.

Momoko reluctantly turned around to find that he had been standing right behind her the entire time. She tried to escape to the right, but his arms quickly wrapped around her waist in time. As soon as she felt his hot breath against her neck, her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. It felt ticklish, just like years before, until she felt his hot breath slowly moving towards her ear. She felt her heart begin to beat faster, but once she tried reaching for the knife, he grabbed her hand. She felt him squeeze her hand tightly, and she felt her heart skip a beat again.

"Come on, Momoko," he whispered into her ear. "We both know that you would never try to hurt me."

Momoko quickly shook her head. "Y-You're wrong!"

He snorted. "Am I now?"

When Momoko felt his free arm hug her tighter and his mouth move southern to her neck, her eyes widened as she felt a tingly feeling. She felt his mouth brush slowly against her bare neck, and when he finally pressed against his lips against it, the tingly feeling grew warm and became stronger.

"Besides, you shouldn't sully your hands," he whispered against her skin. He pressed another gentle kiss on her neck. "They make delicious food, after all."

At once, something inside of her snapped, and she pushed him away. She knew that he moved away willingly from her because after all, he was stronger than her. That fact only added further to her irritation.

"And how would you know that?" she snapped as she narrowed her eyes. "You haven't eaten my cooking in years."

"No, I ate it pretty recently."

Momoko's eyes widened, and finally, she made the connection in her head. "It was _you._ "

He chuckled. "It took you this long to figure it out, huh?"

A frown grew on her face, but that chuckle of his reminded her of so many good memories. She tried to fight against that growing feeling—that same feeling that was already telling her how everything felt so _right_ —but she could feel her heart become swayed by him once more. She snapped out of it once she saw that he tried to move towards her again, and after she pushed him away again, she glared at him as she watched him back away.

He frowned. "Momoko—"

"Move any closer, and I will call the police," she retorted.

He sighed. "Momoko, listen to me—"

"Why should I? Why should I after all of those lies?!"

"Momoko-chan—"

" _I told you not to call me that!_ "

He let out an exasperated sigh, and he began to move closer once more.

At once, Momoko reached for her cell phone in her pocket, but her eyes widened when she realized that it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?"

She looked up and saw that he was holding her cell phone. "H-How—"

"Are you willing to listen to me _now?_ " he interrupted as he frowned.

She scoffed before she looked away. She would've turned her back on him, but she didn't want to take her chances in case he tried to pull anything on her again.

"Momoko."

She sighed and looked at him. "I'm _listening._ "

He snorted and grinned at her as he put her cell phone back in his pocket. "Doesn't this bring back memories?"

She frowned in response, and her frown grew when she began to remember those very memories he was referring to.

His grin fell once he saw her frown, though. Once he saw that she decided to look at the floor instead of him, his gaze on her finally faltered, and he glanced away from her.

There was a long moment of silence between the two.

Momoko could feel the air thickening, but she didn't dare to say anything. She crossed her arms, and one of her hands tightened against her arm when she began to remember the reason she started cooking in the first place. She felt like her past was smacking her in the face again as she felt the memories began to whiz by in her mind. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that he was in front of her again when she finally saw his feet near hers on the floor.

"Hey," he whispered.

She gulped softly and didn't move.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked without bothering to look at him. She paused and added softly, "That doesn't sound like the Brick I know."

Brick let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, well, let's just say that I had a lot of time to think while I was locked away."

There was a long pause between the two again.

Momoko didn't know what to make of it. It just reminded her of how they acted in the past. If anything, she wished that this was just a bad dream and that she slept on the job. She'd rather be in the interrogation room with the head chef than here with him. She didn't want him to appear in his life again, but her heart was telling her otherwise, and their proximity wasn't helping.

"Momoko, look at me," Brick said softly.

Momoko let out another sigh, and she finally looked at him.

"I really am sorry."

His eyes, on the other hand, didn't look so apologetic to Momoko. He looked completely unfazed to her.

"Don't lie to me," Momoko retorted. "I'm not falling for another one of your lies."

He blinked.

Momoko let out a shaky breath before she glared at him. " _Everything_ was a lie. Everything about _you_ was a lie. Everything about _us_ was a lie, Brick! And to make matters worse, you _used_ me for _your own personal gain!_ "

Brick stared at her, completely unfazed.

Momoko felt her legs begin to shake as she recalled those hurtful memories, but she shook her head to get rid of the growing pain in her. "So don't you _dare_ apologize to me when I know for a fact that _you don't even mean it!_ "

"What makes you think I didn't mean it?"

Momoko looked taken aback, and she glanced away before she looked at him again. "Because you _used_ me, Brick! You _used_ me!"

"And? What's your point?"

Momoko couldn't help but sputter as she felt her emotions overwhelm her. Finally, she shook her head to snap out of it. "Didn't you hear me?!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. And?"

"You _lied_ to me!"

"And?"

Momoko let out a loud groan of frustration and anger. "You don't get it, do you?! Why I'm even here today?! Why I'm even cooking at this place?! It's all because of _you!_ " She panted loudly as she tried to control her breathing. "I-I just—it's all because of _you_ , Brick! You _used_ me! My cooking was just another tool to you! So, how do you think I felt about _us,_ huh?! About my _feelings?!_ Was my heart just another _pawn_ back then to you?!"

He stared at her, still unfazed.

And that only made the pain in Momoko's chest grow.

"Was it, Brick?!" Momoko yelled. "Was my _love_ for you just another _pawn_ —"

"I admired you back then, you know," he interrupted.

Momoko blinked in surprise, and she felt a large lump begin to grow in her throat. She didn't dare to say another word because she knew that her emotions would cause her to cry. The last thing she needed right now was for him of all people to see her cry.

"I really did." He paused as he waited for her to say something, but when she didn't, he let his hands rest on her hips. "The way you work hard at everything is pretty admirable."

Momoko still made no response.

He stared at her before he let out a long sigh. "I'm glad you decided to continue cooking."

Momoko finally swallowed the lump in her throat, and she did her best to gather her courage. When she did, she retorted, "That's because you know that _you're_ the reason why I started cooking in the first place."

Within a split second after Momoko said that, he leaned in closely—close enough to kiss her, in fact.

Momoko's eyes widened. She could feel his hot breath on her lips, but she was stunned. It had happened so quickly.

Before Momoko could react, he pressed his lips against hers. She felt the hurt and bliss mix together as he continued to kiss her. It was a gentle kiss, and she felt it grow deeper as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her in closer. The kiss was slow, but it was enough to send those tingles throughout her entire body.

By the time Brick had pulled away for a breather, Momoko felt her mind riding cloud nine. When she looked into his red eyes, she could feel her heart sway once more. Momoko couldn't bring herself to think straight, no matter how hard she tried.

Brick leaned in again, and the two of them exchanged slow, soft kisses again and again. Each time, within Momoko's body, she felt her heart scream happiness. It was as though the pain she felt from all of the memories were gone. And when the pain finally subsided, she felt her entire body tingle as the kisses continued, one after another.

However, it wasn't long until she remembered that no matter how right this felt—no matter how much her heart was screaming at her to just accept what she was feeling—this was still _wrong._ She pulled away from Brick, but he just wouldn't let go of her. Momoko tried to look away from him, but he forced her to straight in the eyes.

"Do you still believe that you were just a tool to me, Momoko?" he whispered.

Momoko's eyes shifted to the floor. "I-I—"

Brick tried to move in closer again, and he pulled her closer into his arms. He raised an eyebrow at her as he cocked his head to the side. "Well?"

Before Momoko could retort, she heard the head chef yell, " _AKATSUTSUMI MOMOKO!_ "

Momoko cringed as Brick scowled. Before Brick began to pull away from her, she managed to take her cell phone from his pocket. When Brick turned to face the door, she turned around and tried to turn her phone on.

"Planning on calling the police on me?" Brick asked without turning around.

She flinched, and her grasp on her phone tightened when it turned on. She knew she had to do the right thing, even if her heart screamed at her that she shouldn't, especially not after those kisses—not after she was reminded of how nice it felt in his arms once again.

"If you do, I'll kill everyone here," Brick said bluntly.

Momoko's eyes widened before she turned around to face him.

He had turned around to face her as well, and his eyes showed no ounce of sympathy.

"You wouldn't."

"I've killed people in the past before, Momoko. I've even killed people while I was locked up. You think I wouldn't do it now?"

Momoko gulped as she knew that he had a point, and she scolded herself for stupidly swaying so easily to the kisses they shared.

"But, don't worry. I won't kill you. After all, we had history together." Brick paused when he saw Momoko flinch, and he frowned. "You know, the first person I'd kill would be the head chef."

"You will _not_ kill anyone," Momoko snapped.

He snorted and looked at her in apathy. "Then, don't call the police. Simple."

" _AKATSUTSUMI MOMOKO!_ " they heard the head chef yell again, and they both heard stomping.

Brick smirked. "We'll continue this conversation later."

Momoko's eyes widened. "Wait, later?!"

Without another word, Brick left the kitchen.

Just a minute later, the head chef entered the kitchen. He scowled as he looked at Momoko. "I heard complaints that there was yelling coming from this kitchen! Why was there yelling in this kitchen?!"

Momoko began to stammer as she tried to figure out a plausible excuse.

"Enough!"

Momoko shut her mouth.

"If I hear another complaint, you _will_ be punished," the head chef growled, and he left without another word.

Once the kitchen doors shut, Momoko sighed in relief, but then, the reality of the situation sunk into her head again. She had to call the police, but if she did, she'd be endangering everyone here. Besides, who knew what else he knew about her? She couldn't risk it.

Her eyes widened in realization as her face blanched. "Oh, no. Miyako and Kaoru."

She took out her cell phone to try calling either of them, but when she was about to dial their numbers, her phone vibrated. She saw that an unknown number had texted her, and when she went to check the messages, her eyes grew wider.

 _You most likely realized by now that my brothers have gotten to your friends.  
I always knew you were a smart girl.  
_ _Yet another admirable trait that I love about you, my cherry blossom._

Momoko didn't know how to react. On one hand, she was shocked because she had no idea how in the world he attained her cell phone number; on the other hand, she was irritated at that last sentence. She gulped softly as she scrolled down to read more of the text.

 _Although, I am a bit disappointed in you.  
I thought you would've realized sooner that I was the one who wrote the order.  
But, then again, how could you have known that I had found you already?_

"W-What? Found me?" Momoko muttered before she continued to read the text.

 _Anyway, don't worry about your friends.  
My brothers aren't moronic enough to let them get hurt; they won't hurt them either.  
I will admit that it took a long while to find the three of you, though.  
Of course, now that I finally found you, I don't plan to let you out of my grasp again._

Momoko's eyes widened further as she saw the end of that text. She felt her heart pounding inside of her as she began to wonder just what in the world he had meant. She quickly shook her head when her phone vibrated again. She gulped again before she let out a long exhale and opened the text.

 _Also, I'll be picking you up later today, so don't do anything stupid, like trying to escape.  
I hope you've realized by now that I can easily track you down and find you if you do.  
So, be the smart little cherry blossom that you are, and wait for me.  
And just to let you know, we'll definitely continue our earlier conversation when I see you again._

 _\- Brick_


End file.
